Floods hit Mekong Delta farmers after Laos dam bursts

The rushing waters from the partially constructed hydropower dam in Attapeu Province have so far killed 27 and left 131 missing besides stranding more than 3,000 people. In An Giang Province’s Vinh Hoi Dong Commune, farmer Nguyen Van Dieu looked at his inundated 4,000-square-meter field and said: “It seems like we have lost everything since the water level is continuing to rise rapidly.” Dieu and his wife tried everything they could to keep out the waters but in vain. He is just one of thousands of affected farmers in An Giang. In Dong Thap Province, people living around the Tien River said flooding season came early this year and did not leave much room and time for them to fully prepare. Le Thi Muoi, 42, a local, said farmers did not have time to harvest their crops. “No one would buy our damaged cassava,” she said. In Long An Province, farmers in Thanh Hung Commune are trying to cover up the paddy field and save more than 1,000 hectares of rice. Farmers harvest crops ahead of the flood. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam “Due to uncompleted flood defense, production rate has dropped by 30 percent as water was rising five to seven centimeters daily,” Vo Hung Kiet, a commune official said. “Distributors pre-ordered at a great price before the flood hit,” a local farmer, Nguyen Van Dong said. “But since we had to harvest when the rice was yet fully grown, price has dropped VND1,000 per kilogram.” Locals also shared that… [Read full story]